For the eight year Canon ranks first among Japanese companies in terms of patents filed in the USA. In 2005 Canon filed 1825 patents (2nd in the world). Ad the rate was growing until 2012, when Canon issued 3174 patents. The chart below (source: ) gives an idea about the figures.

Canon prizes its corporate DNA of placing a high priority on technology. And with regard to research and development results, the company actively promotes the acquisition of patent rights in accordance with the management direction of the Canon Group and technology trends while conducting thorough pre-application searches to raise the quality of applications. Through close cooperation between Canon’s technology and intellectual property divisions, the company aims to improve its technological capabilities while further enhancing its intellectual property rights.

Support Canon Watch! I love to bring you all the latest news about everything that's related to Canon (and to photography). If you like what I am doing here, then consider buying your gear by clicking my affiliate links. You won't pay a penny more and I get a small commission that helps keep the site going: Amazon, B&H, Adorama, Canon USA, Digitalrev, eBay. Thank you!